1. Field
The invention relates to a field-installable fanout assembly providing a high-strength furcation point.
2. Background
In the Private Network and Industrial markets, there is a continuing trend where copper based communication wiring is being replaced with fiber optic cabling for communication and sensing applications. Multifiber fiber optic cables efficiently carry the requisite number of fibers to the point(s) of applied use where it is then necessary to separate each individual fiber and terminate with fiber optic connectors. In many cases, the individual fibers are only 250 μm bare fibers that require careful handling to avoid damage. A fanout assembly serves as a means to facilitate the separation of multifiber cables by providing a protective housing for transitioning the fibers from the multifiber cable. In total, the fanout assemblies, consist of several common components: a multifiber cable at the input, a housing in which the furcation is accomplished and a furcation block or insert that holds buffer or furcation tubes that protect the fiber and give it a diameter suitable for a standard fiber optic connector.
Fan-out assemblies generally fall into two categories: pre-configured and field-installable. In most cases, field-installable fanout assemblies are not designed to use furcation tubes with strength elements such as kevlar/aramid fibers. Rather, to retain the furcation tubes in the furcation block, the furcation tubes are glued or epoxied to the furcation block. The weakness of this approach is that it does not yield the capability to resist significant tensile pullout forces, especially at low temperatures. Conventional offerings may capture and utilize strength elements using reinforced multifiber or exit furcation tubes to withstand pull forces that are consistent with industry standard references such as Telcordia GR-2866. However, with many conventional offerings, if they are designed to retain the strength elements, they do so using methods that are complicated or require additional tools.